Raphael Stevens

Paramount Global has partnered with shoppable advertising company Shopsense AI for the 2024 MTV VMAs so viewers can shop the red carpet looks they’re seeing in real time.
Shopsense is debuting its new “Lens” at the start of the awards show, which will allow viewers to snap photos of outfits on screens and get product recommendations.
The company said it is in discussions with other major media companies and aims to bring the tech to a range of programming, including scripted television and sporting events.

Courtesy: Shopsense

When viewers tune in to the 2024 MTV VMAs on Wednesday night, they’ll be able to shop the outfits and designer looks they’re seeing in real time, as legacy media companies look for new ways to monetize content.
As part of a new partnership between Paramount Global — the parent company of cable TV network MTV — and shoppable advertising company Shopsense AI, viewers will be able to shop the outfits they’re seeing on screen using the startup’s new AI-powered lens, which will launch at the start of the awards show, Shopsense told CNBC.

The software will allow viewers to snap photos of their favorite looks as they come up on screen and then browse similar options suggested by Shopsense’s product recognition algorithm, the company said.
The partnership and potential future deals could boost both retailers taking a hit as consumers pull back discretionary spending, and legacy media companies that have tried to maintain profits in a challenging landscape. Each time a person buys something through the new feature, or in some cases even when they just click on an item, some revenue will go back to Paramount, according to Shopsense.
“Everyone’s got their phone or their tablet in their hand while they’re watching TV,” Bryan Quinn, a former Amazon executive and Shopsense’s co-founder and president, told CNBC in an interview. “This allows folks, in a non-disruptive way … to go through that shopping journey without pausing the content.” 
Paramount’s partnership with Shopsense was a key component of its Upfront presentation in May, a time when media companies make their annual pitch to advertisers. The agreement comes as legacy media companies look to generate new revenue streams and find different ways to monetize their content.
While media companies have relied on ad revenue for some time, it’s become more important as they look to make their streaming businesses profitable. Paramount — which recently agreed to a merger with Skydance Media — will air the VMAs on both MTV and its streaming platform, Paramount+. 

Legacy meets AI

Advertisers and media companies have been leaning into generative AI tools, such as shoppable advertising. Disney announced a similar partnership earlier this year with Gateway Shop, and launched a beta program for its first native streaming shoppable ad format.
Across the ad industry, the growth of AI is “revolutionizing how brands reach audiences,” said Natalie Bastian, global chief marketing officer at Teads.
“The integration of AI is driving measurable outcomes, maximizing media effectiveness and improving return on ad spend across the industry,” Bastian said.
Since most celebrities attending the VMAs on Wednesday will likely be wearing custom, couture items, the Shopsense software will suggest so-called dupes at a range of price points. It can recognize more than 1 billion items that are sold off the rack, according to Shopsense.
“For impulse buys, the immediacy of this format is particularly effective, as it capitalizes on the viewer’s spontaneous desires, often triggered by limited-time offers or exclusive deals,” said Laura Taylor, retail media investment lead at Goodway Group.
TV viewership is largely driven by live events, namely sports, news and awards shows such as the VMAs. As it draws the most eyeballs, live content has attracted the most advertising dollars, even as the ad market is in the midst of a rebound from down years. 
The ad market slumped soon after the onset of the pandemic, as companies often pull back on advertising spending during times of economic uncertainty. However, companies have reported this year that the ad market is on the rebound, especially for streaming and digital players. 
While advertising revenue for Paramount’s traditional TV business dropped during its second quarter, Paramount+ turned its first profit, driven by subscriber growth and higher prices. Though a wave of consumers has shifted from the pay TV bundle toward streaming, the majority of viewership still comes from traditional TV viewing, said John Halley, president of Paramount Advertising. 
As Paramount gears up for another major live event, Halley called the Shopsense integration “totally game changing” when it comes to how viewers will experience the VMAs.
“It’s something that provides brands an amazing access point and opportunity to reach consumers … in an environment that is actionable to purchase their products,” said Halley.
“Once you get the consumer into the environment, No. 1, they tend to dwell, so they’ll go through and look at a bunch of stuff, and No. 2, the revenue per user in those environments is extremely high. The conversion rates are high,” he said. “It’s really a matter of bringing the consumer into the second screen experience and the tech does the rest of it.”
Down the line, Shopsense is looking to work with other media companies and their wardrobe teams so viewers can shop the exact products featured on all sorts of television programs, such as the power blazers featured on HBO’s “Industry” or the cookware featured on Fox’s “MasterChef.”
“We’re turning TV into this retail powerhouse, right?” said Glenn Fishback, Shopsense’s CEO and other co-founder. “We’re promoting, enabling and activating and allowing the prospective TV broadcasters to win back the living room and create this curated secondary screen experience. This should be a form of entertainment that not only am I enjoying the shows, I can buy the furniture. I’m a part of it, and that’s what we think the Lens does.”
Quinn declined to say what other broadcasters the retailer is in negotiations with, but did say Shopsense is in “active conversations with all the major media companies.” 

What about the retailers?

Shopsense has teamed up with over 1,000 retailers, including Macy’s, Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters and Revolve, to feature their products in the platform. The partnership gives retailers a chance to capture customers at the moment they’re inspired by something they’re watching on television. It’s another example of how they’re leveraging artificial intelligence to make online shopping more experiential and engaging — though it’s unclear whether it drive significant sales.
In 2022, Walmart teamed up with Roku to create interactive product ads that allowed viewers to use their remote to click on an item and purchase it. However, the consumer was required to pause the content and use their TV screen to check out, which took them away from what they were watching and wasn’t exactly a seamless shopping experience. 
“The biggest difference here is complete lack of friction. You pull a phone out, you point it at the TV, and here comes the gallery,” said Paramount’s Halley. “What we’ve learned over and over and over again is it has to be a seamless experience. You can’t require a viewer to take a fundamentally different behavior, right? People are typically watching television with their phones and an opportunity to extend the … experience right there to the second screen is incredibly compelling.”
Not only will consumers be able to find the looks they’re seeing on television, Shopsense will also feature curated collections inspired by the content. For example, as the VMAs kick off on Wednesday night, it’ll feature lookalikes from last year’s event and a curated “Get ready with me” selection from Macy’s that includes red carpet looks, fragrances and accessories, Shopsense said.
“We’re often times bringing in similar items that are thematically aligned with the content,” said Quinn. 
For example, a curated selection of winter looks in New York could accompany a season of Disney’s “Only Murders in the Building” or a range of burnt-orange clothing could be offered with a Texas Longhorns game. 
Jessica Ramirez, a senior research analyst at Jane Hali & Associates, said marrying television with retail is a great way to help consumers with product research and reel them in when many are cutting back on discretionary purchases. 
“When you’re watching TV, you’re looking at something. ‘Oh I really like that lipstick, I like that dress, maybe it’s something I want to wear for a wedding’ and if there’s a way for you to easily browse while you’re shopping, it’s another channel,” said Ramirez. “It’s a great idea and it makes sense, but with these kinds of things, execution is crucial.” More

The Los Angeles 2028 Games are aiming to leave the city better off after the Olympics leave, key stakeholders said at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan.
That includes investments in transportation and housing, as well as further promoting all aspects of Los Angeles.

Karen Bass, Mayor of Los Angeles, waves the Olympic flag as Thomas Bach, President of International Olympic Committee, applauds during the Closing Ceremony of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Stade de France on August 11, 2024 in Paris, France.
Carl Recine | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images

After a successful 2024 Olympics and Paralympics in Paris, the bar has been set high for the next summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028, something that key stakeholders in that event say the city will be ready for.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan sports business event on Tuesday that what is making her anxious is “all that we need to do in our city to prepare” for the 2028 Games. However, she said that much like the last time Los Angeles hosted the Olympics in 1984, she believes the city will not only improve to host the Games but will benefit once they are over.

That includes work on public transportation. Bass said she is hoping there will be “no cars to the venues,” and that viewers will take public transportation to the Games — a pledge that will require an investment in both bus and subway infrastructure, as well as collaboration with other cities to borrow buses.
Bass said the city is also doing “whatever we can to eliminate street homelessness,” including building more than 18,000 new units for the unhoused population.
Bass said there will also be discussions with companies in Los Angeles around work schedules to shift employees to remote work during periods of high traffic, as well as find ways to shift truck deliveries into the night, like what happened during the 1984 Games.
“I think there is a way we can organize the region so that traffic will be less and manageable,” Bass said.
LA 2028 President Casey Wasserman attended the Paris Games, an event that he told Ross Sorkin “reminded people why they fall in love with the Olympics,” and one he said organizers will look to build upon in Los Angeles.

While no new permanent venues will be built for the Los Angeles Games, the first time in Olympics history, there are some challenges in utilizing all the city’s landmarks in the way Paris was able to feature famous locations like the Eiffel Tower by hosting beach volleyball nearby. Wasserman said Los Angeles got a glimpse of that with the Olympic Torch handover ceremony, when Tom Cruise scaled the Hollywood Sign and the Olympic Rings replaced the “OO”‘s in the sign — which Wasserman noted was done with CGI.
“That’s obviously a longer, complicated conversation,” Wasserman said of altering the Hollywood Sign for the Games. “But I think it’s a pretty spectacular opportunity if there was a way to do it.”
Actress Jessica Alba, who is on the Los Angeles 2028 board of directors, said the Games will present all different aspects of the city’s culture, from Hollywood to fashion to food, as “a global platform to showcase what they got.”
“LA is a main character,” Alba said. “We want it to be a main character during the Olympics.”
Disclosure: CNBC parent NBCUniversal owns NBC Sports and NBC Olympics. NBC Olympics is the U.S. broadcast rights holder to all Summer and Winter Games through 2032. More

Sports betting is continuing its integration into modern sports culture, and industry leaders do not expect the growth to slow down any time soon.
Executives from FanDuel, Fanatics, DraftKings and Sportradar, a firm that provides data to sportsbooks, spoke at the CNBC x Boardroom: Game Plan on Tuesday afternoon.
The industry has boomed recently, but taxes and ethical concerns have presented difficulties.

A DraftKings Sportsbook logo is posted on the right field wall of Chicago's Wrigley Field before a game between the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies on Sept. 27, 2022. 
John J. Kim | Tribune News Service | Getty Images

Sports betting is continuing its integration into modern sports culture, and industry leaders do not expect the growth to slow down any time soon.
Executives from FanDuel, Fanatics, DraftKings and Sportradar, a firm that provides data to sportsbooks, spoke at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan sports business event on Tuesday afternoon, discussing state taxes, new betting trends and the companies’ obligations to police safe betting practices.

Of those three companies with sportsbooks, Fanatics is the most junior in the space. The Michael Rubin-led company launched its sportsbook last year and later acquired PointsBet’s U.S. assets as it plays catch-up to the others, which is not cheap.
“The good thing about Michael Rubin is he is not scared of making material investments when it’s something that he believes in, and so our view is we want to be a top three player,” Fanatics Betting and Gaming CEO Matt King told CNBC’s Contessa Brewer on stage.
Sports betting executives said they are also noticing that bettors are increasingly interested in placing wagers on individual players, as well as making real-time bets during whatever sporting event they are watching.
“I think you’ll continue to see sports fans engage more, you’ll see us focus and serve them more with more personalized bets and markets,” DraftKings chief business and growth officer Marie Donoghue said.
As much tailwind as sports betting companies have received from growing legalization and popularity across the country, taxes and ethical concerns have presented difficulties.

Several states have a 51% tax on sports betting companies, and Illinois recently approved a tax increase on sports betting revenue. DraftKings attempted to implement a surcharge on winning bets in some states, but the company quickly walked it back after competitor FanDuel’s parent company Flutter said it would not do the same.
Sports betting has also garnered negative headlines in recent months as professional sports leagues have struggled to effectively stop players from violating betting and gambling rules. Former NBA player Jontay Porter received a lifetime ban earlier this year for violating the league’s betting policy.
The speakers also addressed widespread concerns about whether the nature of sports betting companies’ business models discourages them from providing proper guardrails to stop gambling problems.
“We want to have a long-term sustainable business and if we are generating real-world bad impacts for our customers who have people who love them and are important to them in their lives and who they’re depending on, that’s not good for business,” said FanDuel president Christian Genetski. More

Women’s sports leagues from soccer to basketball are looking to continue their growth, as they’ve drawn fans and sports media coverage in recent years.
Speakers at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan said company sponsorships are also seeing the value of building equity with fledgling leagues.

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, #22, drives to the basket against Atlanta Dream guard Destanni Henderson, #33, during a WNBA preseason game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 9, 2024.
Brian Spurlock | Icon Sportswire | Getty Images

The fervor and passion surrounding women’s sports aren’t going to go away, said Jessica Berman, commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League. They’re only going to get bigger.
“We’ve finally reached the point where it isn’t a question as to whether this is a moment and it’s going to pass or whether it’s going to stand the test of time, because it isn’t just an isolated set of circumstances that have been successful, like one sport or one league or one event,” Berman said during CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan sports business event on Tuesday.

Berman noted that women’s sports used to only account for around 5% of sports media coverage and now account for closer to 15%, showing a pattern of success across leagues and athletes. And those leagues are sharing best practices so that all women’s sports can get a boost.
“We’re trying to grow our share of the pie; no fight over our tiny little sliver of the pie,” she said.
And fans aren’t the only one taking notice. Sara Gotfredson, founder of Trailblazing Sports Group, said Tuesday that there’s a strong business case for brands to get in on the ground floor for burgeoning leagues like the NWSL and the Women’s National Basketball Association.
Gotfredson noted that fans of women’s sports are “fanning differently” and are more engaged “from a brand partner perspective” than those who follow men’s sports and male athletes. She called out brands like Google, Ally Bank and AT&T as leaders in the space that are seeing the value in building equity with fledgling women’s sports leagues.
“It’s still a small percentage of brands spending in women’s sports,” she said. “It continues to get bigger.”

Cameron Brink, a forward on the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks has been endorsed by a number of brands including New Balance, Urban Decay and Legal Zoom.
“Even though my [WNBA] contract may not be as much as I’m making off the court, that is how I show up in the space and what I love to do,” she said during Tuesday’s panel. “My success on court leads to success off court.”
Both Brink and USC’s women’s basketball star JuJu Watkins agreed that more women’s sports games need to be more accessible for fans, with Brink saying “keep showing it and making it easier to watch.” Brink said that right now fans have to “jump through so many hoops” to watch games staring female athletes.
Gotfredson, too, noted that there needs to be more coverage of these leagues on linear television as well as on podcasts, YouTube shows and other media.
Yet Berman said women’s leagues have a lot of catching up to do. The NWSL, she noted, is only 13 years old and only recently became independent from the United States Soccer Federation.
“Men’s sports have been around for hundreds of years and have decades of experience,” Berman said. “You can’t catch up to 100 years in 10.” More

A few rule changes and a new focus on amplifying players’ talents has the MLB looking at a different trajectory than it was a couple years ago.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB greats CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols spoke on stage at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan event about the changes that have come to baseball.
The future of MLB is centered around making the on-field product more exciting for fans, they said.

Aaron Judge #99 of the New York Yankees swings his bat during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Field on September 03, 2024 in Arlington, Texas.
Sam Hodde | Getty Images

Major League Baseball is likely on a different trajectory than it was a couple years ago after the league implemented rule changes and renewed its focus on amplifying the talents of the its players, according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.
Manfred spoke at CNBC x Boardroom’s Game Plan sports business event on Tuesday afternoon along with former MLB greats CC Sabathia and Albert Pujols, touching on everything from regional sports networks to why young stars like the Cincinnati Reds’ Elly De La Cruz are so important to the game.

As part of its changing mentality, the MLB has its sights set on becoming a more national sport, according to Manfred. The league has typically been more regional, including with its broadcasting rights, but Manfred said to grow the sport the way he believes is possible will require a stronger focus on taking MLB games to a bigger audience.
“We need a more national strategy,” Manfred told CNBC’s Scott Wapner. “We’re blessed with a huge amount of content: 2,430 games. Because of the amount of content, I think there will be some local component but I think the strategy needs to be more national and our reach needs to be more national.”
Meanwhile, the MLB has been one of several leagues affected by the bankruptcy restructuring of Diamond Sports, the largest owner of regional sports networks in the country. Some teams have already parted ways with the regional networks and turned to the MLB itself to produce and air its games instead of Diamond Sports.
As for MLB’s star power, all three panelists said they’re excited about the talent the game has to offer. But Sabathia said the league needs to do a better job of creating and marketing star starting pitchers specifically.
“I don’t know if it’s more stars because I think we have stars,” Sabathia said. “I think we have [Aaron] Judge, we have [Shohei] Ohtani, We have [Juan] Soto. It’s star pitchers, it’s starting pitchers.”

As baseball has progressed, pitchers have thrown fewer and fewer innings — meaning the number of complete games and intensity of two elite starters going head-to-head has been reduced. The MLB has already tweaked rules to attempt to keep pitchers in the game longer, and the league is reportedly flirting with a minimum inning requirement for starting pitchers, according to ESPN.
Major League Baseball has already seen its fair share of changes recently. The league instituted rule changes in 2023 that included putting limits on the number of pickoffs as well as installing larger bases, and the result has been a boom in stolen bases the last two seasons. The shift, or realignment of players in the field, was also pared down, so there is more of an opportunity for batted balls to become hits or for players to make more athletic plays on the batted balls.
All three panelists also said it’s important to diversify the MLB’s audience. They noted that the league officially recognized statistics from the Negro Leagues for the first time earlier this year and has plans to do more work in underserved communities to attract a wider demographic of both players and fans. More

Help Wanted

Clean energy employment increased by 142,000 jobs last year, accounting for more than half of new energy-sector jobs, according to recent data from the Department of Energy.
As presidential nominees Kamala Harris and Donald Trump prepare to face off in their first debate, voters will be tuning in for clarity on their plans to handle issues including the economy, inflation and job growth.
Ameresco, which integrates clean tech and develops, owns and operates renewable energy projects, is forging ahead with hiring plans regardless of the election’s outcome.

As presidential nominees Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump prepare to face off in their first debate Tuesday night, voters will be tuning in for clarity on their plans to handle issues including the economy, inflation and job growth.
One sector that faces particular uncertainty after the election is clean energy, which has received a boost from the Biden administration but faced skepticism from Trump.

Climate change and a move toward more sustainable energy have bolstered job growth in the sector in recent years, thanks in part to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act and the Chips and Science Act.  Recent data from the Department of Energy showed clean energy employment increased by 142,000 jobs last year, accounting for more than half of new energy-sector jobs.
The rate was more than double the growth for the rest of the energy sector and the overall U.S. economy, according to the newly released 2024 U.S. Energy and Employment Report.
Since the implementation of the IRA and the CHIPS and Science Act, there’s been more “long-term certainty” for jobs related to energy efficiency, renewables and climate resilience, the nonprofit Environmental and Energy Study Institute said. The IRA is projected to generate more than 300,000 jobs annually for new energy project construction and about 100,000 permanent jobs each year, according to the EESI.
While job growth in the sector faces uncertainty after the election, industry watchers say the future of energy production and consumption is always changing.
“Energy systems have been in transition for decades — it’s always in transition, it’s always in a state of flux,” Daniel Bresette, president of EESI, said of the upcoming election’s impact.

Ameresco, which integrates clean tech and develops, owns and operates renewable energy projects, is forging ahead with hiring plans regardless of the election’s outcome. It will increase its hiring by 300 workers in the U.S. and Europe this year, in positions ranging from engineers to project managers, developers, analysts and more. Ameresco provides efficient energy solutions for clients that range from federal and state governments to colleges and hospitals.
“Everyone needs energy no matter what, regardless of who is in the White House. So the driver is going to be increasing that need for more secure energy sources, for cheaper energy sources and for cleaner energy sources,” said Nicole Bulgarino, executive vice president and general manager of federal and utility solutions at Ameresco. 
The company is also looking to Gen Z to fill the jobs, as fewer applicants are coming up through trade and vocational schools and younger workers have shown an interest in climate-friendly opportunities. Ameresco, which offers tuition reimbursement and mentorship programs, said it has had success in recruiting recent college grads and investing in their training.
Caroline Leilani Stevenson, a 22-year-old associate electrical engineer at Ameresco, is part of the Gen Z hiring push. Stevenson interned with Ameresco and came back full-time after graduation, working today on projects with the Department of Defense.
She was able to work on a solar project in Honolulu, which was particularly meaningful, as she grew up on Maui. Like others in her generation, she found the idea of working toward more sustainable energy solutions appealing.
“I wanted to make an impact and build something really big,” she said. “The energy needs of a large naval base are not the same as a small elementary school and the suburbs of New York or the energy usage of a hospital are not the same as a large data center … It’s great to be able to design something for a specific site and make a difference in that way. Being able to see and know that the power from these lines is going somewhere and it’s eventually going to improve life at large.”
As Harris and Trump prepare to debate their policies, neither candidate has put forth a comprehensive plan on energy and climate change so far, leading to uncertainty for the sector. But their experiences in the White House can help to inform possible paths.
Harris was a key part of implementing the Inflation Reduction Act, as she cast the tiebreaking vote to pass the bill as vice president to President Joe Biden. She also backed the Green New Deal while serving in the Senate but has walked back some of her earlier stances that veered further to the progressive left. Harris also said during an interview with CNN that she would not ban fracking, a position she’d taken in her previous bid for the White House.
Trump meanwhile has promised to make energy cheaper and focused on drilling for oil in the U.S. He also rolled back major climate policies and has said he would rescind the IRA’s unspent dollars if elected. He called the Green New Deal the “Green New Scam” at an event at the Economic Club of New York last week.
One thing is for sure: Industry analysts are projecting the need for energy to increase significantly, regardless of November’s outcome.
“There [is] lots and lots of new, especially in the electricity space, lots of new demand, [from] the transportation sector, electrification, data centers, artificial intelligence. All of that adds up to a lot of electricity demand,” said Bresette. “It is almost difficult to imagine how much more energy we’re going to need in the future.” More